What kind of hearing protection do you use while (deer) hunting, or do you?

[Wifeshusband]

I have a hearing loss, which is not unexpected at 65 after a lifetime of using lawn mowers, chain saws, power tools & shotguns, without hearing protection. While I use ear muffs at the range, I have never used any ear protection while deer hunting, figuring a shot or two won't affect me. However, there are some articles on the net stating even one loud rifle shot can cause permanent damage. Do you wear hearing protection while deer hunting, if so, what kind?

 

[lampern]

Razor battery powered hearing muffs

https://www.walkersgameear.com/razor-slim-electronic-ear-muff/

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1867402213

In windy conditions they can be annoying with the wind sounds

I'm sure there are much better that are much more expensive

 

[Cool Hand Luke]

I never have but will be this season. Realized I have tinnitus so trying to avoid further damage. Bought a set of Walkers muffs that amplify sound but muffle gun shots. Be a new experience so we'll see.

 

[300 Mag]

I have tinnitus as well and I use shooting ear muffs, deer isn't worth losing hearing.

 

[Railroader]

My ears been ringing since 1987...rock concerts, jet engines on flightline, gunfire, twenty years of locomotive and various railroad noise, my hearing sucks...

Shooting a few critters ain't gonna make it no worse.

 

[furtaker]

If I'm hunting with a loud magnum or an AR, I keep a set of banded ear plugs around my neck. I have time to get them in 95% of the time.

If you want to try some electronic muffs, the Howard Leights work well.

 

[baddave]

huh??

 

[Headdigger]

Walker's Alpha Quads

 

[RGRJN]

Ive tried a few different ways... Walkers both muffs and the new plugs......regular muffs. Haven't been happy with any of them. Now that I wear glasses and am hard of hearing it kinda sucks. I went half retard and started looking for electronic plugs and stumbled across these....https://www.otto-comm.com/NoizeBarrierMicro
I love them..comfortable all day, they don't cut out all sound, they just lower it to a safe level. Highly rated on a couple of shooting forums.....Things I didn't like....$400....I didn't like their ear pieces, so I orders some Peltor Skull screws for electronics. Skull screws are just that... when I tried to put them in like regular ear plugs, so, so results. When I turned them like a screw, I thought the derrn things would come out my other ear.

 

[NCHillbilly]

None while hunting.

 

[treemanjohn]

huh??

Haha exactly. Ive had tinnitus for 3 decades. Tube Amos, guns, heavy machinery will get you. Believe it or not driving with your windows down destroys your hearing

Ear plugs offer very very little help for anyone. I use howard leight electronic muff for hunting and always double plug at the range.

 

[Jeetdawg]

My kids carry muffs and I use either muffs or earplugs. With a family full of “huh’s” I don’t have to convince them to wear them. The muffs are just used right before they are ready to shoot as they aren’t the electronic kind. I used to not wear anything as a kid and it caused me to flinch, but they don’t have that issue as they used some type of hearing protection since day 1. Unless you want to wear them all the time, just get a decent muff and enjoy the sounds of the woods until you need to shoot

 

[tcward]

I use these

 

[Wifeshusband]

If I'm hunting with a loud magnum or an AR, I keep a set of banded ear plugs around my neck. I have time to get them in 95% of the time.

If you want to try some electronic muffs, the Howard Leights work well.

That's a concern, if I drape them around my neck, or keep the individual ones in shirt pocket, will I have time to plug them in. It seems my deer are always walking or turning their heads, and I can see a problem with trying to plug while getting ready for the shot. But 95% of time is pretty good.

I think I'm going to have to try something, even those cheap $7.99 pair on a headband, which maybe I can wear around neck until needed. It seems the reviewers say they hurt if you leave them in all the time while hunting, but at my age & loss, something might be better than nothing.

Thanks for the input.

 

[furtaker]

That's a concern, if I drape them around my neck, or keep the individual ones in shirt pocket, will I have time to plug them in. It seems my deer are always walking or turning their heads, and I can see a problem with trying to plug while getting ready for the shot. But 95% of time is pretty good.

I think I'm going to have to try something, even those cheap $7.99 pair on a headband, which maybe I can wear around neck until needed. It seems the reviewers say they hurt if you leave them in all the time while hunting, but at my age & loss, something might be better than nothing.

Thanks for the input.

I definitely wouldn't leave them in while hunting. It doesn't take but a second to pop them in before you shoot.

 

[Jeetdawg]

That's a concern, if I drape them around my neck, or keep the individual ones in shirt pocket, will I have time to plug them in. It seems my deer are always walking or turning their heads, and I can see a problem with trying to plug while getting ready for the shot. But 95% of time is pretty good.

I think I'm going to have to try something, even those cheap $7.99 pair on a headband, which maybe I can wear around neck until needed. It seems the reviewers say they hurt if you leave them in all the time while hunting, but at my age & loss, something might be better than nothing.

Thanks for the input.

We’ve never had an issue where we didn’t have enough time to put our plugs in/muffs on. Honestly, if I didn’t have enough time to do that, it was probably going to be a questionable shot anyway. The key is once you see a deer or hear one coming, slip them in/on. No four legged creature is worth losing my hearing.

 

[bany]

None when hunting. Plugs and headphones shooting and plugs around other noise.
not much hearing loss yet but tinnitus for sure.

 

[NCHillbilly]

We’ve never had an issue where we didn’t have enough time to put our plugs in/muffs on. Honestly, if I didn’t have enough time to do that, it was probably going to be a questionable shot anyway. The key is once you see a deer or hear one coming, slip them in/on. No four legged creature is worth losing my hearing.

I wouldn’t have killed half the deer that I have if I took time to put plugs in, assuming the movement of doing so didn’t spook them to begin with.
If I was hunting out of a blind or box on a plot, yeah. 95% of my hunting is done in close quarters in thick woods. I’m often doing good to get my gun up in time, much less put in earplugs.

 

[sghoghunter]

I bought these back in February to use at night when we shoot hogs. I also plan on using them this season when I hunt down in the woods. Hopefully I can actually hear one before seeing it first. The muffs are real comfortable and help me hear things but they do have some static sound but not real bad

 

[fishfryer]

Don't know for sure,haven't got testing equipment,but black powder doesn't seem to be as loud as modern smokeless. Try it for yourself,it isn't that you may like it,it's how many times more.